historyencyclopediafandomcom-20200215-history
The American Civil War
Civil wars leave nothing but tombs. '- Alphonse De Lamartine' The American Civil War The American Civil War was a war forged between the Union forces (also known as the North), and the Confederate power (known as the South). The South wanted to preserve their life, while the North wanted to preserve the Union itself. The war began in 1861 and lasted until 1865, but it was the goriest and bloodiest battle in American history. Causes and Background On December 20, 1860, what is known today as South Carolina seceded, or withdrew, from the Union. They left the Union to form their own nation, essentially. They did this as a slave state, which means it supported slavery; this caused them to secede because of their belief that slaves were not worth as much as whites. In 1857, the Dred Scott Decision took place. Dred Scott was a former slave. His owner took him to Illinois, which was a non-slavery state at the time. Dred Scott believed that he wouldn’t be a slave anymore, for he was in a slavery-free slave, but then Congress released the decision that slaves were property. Back in 1793, Eli Whitney released a new invention; the Cotton Gin. Before, the gin, slaves and farmers would have to separate the seeds of the cotton plants from the plant fibres (what they needed). This was a very tedious process and one person would only be able to make 1-2 pounds of cotton a day, whereas with the Cotton Gin, they were able to produce 50 pounds a day. This sped up the process a ton. But there was a problem; with the growing amount of cotton being produced, orders from England about cotton skyrocketed. The Southerners, being agricultural (farming) people, needed MORE slaves to keep up with the orders. This made Northerners angry. They wanted to raise tariffs on imported goods. This meant that any items shipped across sea would be needed to pay higher taxes. The South, being on agricultural (as mentioned before), needed lower tariffs. They transported cotton to trade for what they needed to survive. If there were higher tariffs, the South would be discouraged and forced to trade with the North, which would give the North a huge advantage. Slave Rebellions, exactly what the name sounds like, were rebellions and marches led by slaves mostly to protest against slavery. It was another main cause of the American Civil War. The most famous of the slave rebellions was held by Nat Turner, a slave form Virginia. He and fellow others on August 1831 came into the streets of Southampton County, Virginia. They killed around 53 white people before Turner was caught. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an act that was used to balance out the number of free and slave states. Missouri was accepted to enter the United States of America as a slave state on the Confederate side, while Maine was accepted into the Union, a free state. This was revoked by the Kansas-Nebraska Act (See below). On May 30, 1854, an act called the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by congress. Abraham Lincoln (President of the United States at the time)'s political rival Stephen Douglas introduced popular sovereignty, which meant that the new territories joining the United States (the Kansas and Nebraska territories) would choose whether they would allow slavery or not. The citizens could vote on it. However, this caused some issues. Some Southerners, such as farmers, supported slavery very much and came into the new territories to vote for slavery. This caused fighting in war all around Kansas, mostly, causing the phrase "Bleeding Kansas", which people in Kansas are still talking about to this day. The Battle that Started the War There was one battle that basically started it all. It was called the battle of Fort Sumter '''(April 12, 1861 – April 13, 1861). '''Fort Sumter was a fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. At the time, the Union (North) held the fort, but since it was technically in the South after they withdrew, they wanted to capture it. Southern Generals went over and asked for the Union to hand it over. Union Major Robert Anderson agreed to give it up, but only if the Confederates would wait 3 days for them to transport their belongings and possessions. However, Southern General P.T. Beauregard had orders to fire on Fort Sumter in 1 hour. So, when it was time, the Confederacy attacked. The South’s artillery (Such as howitzers and mortars) ended up completely destroying the Union’s Fort. In the battle, the North was at a huge disadvantage because their artillery couldn't turn; it was fixed. However, there were no casualties, but the Confederacy still took the fort over. The First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run took place at Manassas Junction on July 21, 1861, lasting less than a day only. This was an important battle, since Manassas Junction includes a system of railroads. Railroads were very significant form transporting food to soldiers and for many other reasons. There were 35,000 Union troops, led by Irvin McDowell, that bumped into 20,000 Confederate soldiers, led by P.T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston. The Northerners were forcing the Southerners back, but a backup number of 9,000 Southern soldiers came and quickly forged damage against the opponents. The civilians were having picnics, watching the fight, but they quickly became a problem for the retreating Union soldiers. The Northerners fled with the civilians, and the Southerners experienced their second victory, worrying Federal soldiers and boosting Confederate morale. The Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Antietam The Siege of Vicksburg The Battle of Gettysburg The Gettysburg Address The Emancipation Proclamation President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination Aftermath (This page is unfinished, I’ll keep working on it - GiantNate91) Category:Wars Category:United States of America Category:Mexico Category:France Category:Central America Category:North America